Mia Day Burroughs

Running for: Chapel Hill-Carrboro Board of Education

Home: 110 Cedar Hills Drive, Chapel Hill, N.C. 27514

Age: 45

Family: Husband, Scott Burroughs; two daughters, ages 15 and 11 who attend East Chapel Hill High School and Phillips Middle School.

Education: Duke University, B.A, 1983; Majors: political science and Spanish

Occupation/Background: Freelance grant writer

Professional Experience:

• 1996-present: Grant writer for several youth-serving non-profits.
• 1987-1992: Public policy advocate for Advocates For Youth, (Washington, D.C.), the Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Coalition of North Carolina (Raleigh) and Planned Parenthood of Palm Beach and Broward Counties (Florida).
• 1984-1986: I worked for U.S. Representative Bob Edgar (D-Penn.) first on his legislative staff in Washington, D.C. and then as the assistant to the campaign manager of his U.S. Senate campaign in Pennsylvania.

Volunteer Experience:

• Chair, School Governance Committee, Estes Hills Elementary School, 2005-2006
• Volunteer historian for CHCCS, 2006-2007 http://www.chccs.k12.nc.us/CHCCS_timeline.htm
• Member, District-wide School Governance Committee/ School Improvement Team Advisory Committee 2006-2007
• Member, Phillips Middle School Improvement Team 2007
• Member, School Governance Committee, Estes Hills Elementary School, 2004-2005
• CHCCS school budget advocate, 2004-2007
• Weekly elementary classroom volunteer, CHCCS, 1997-2007

Political affiliation: Democrat

Top three priorities if elected:
1) Achievement: Over the last several years the district's ability to measure achievement and growth for all our students has improved dramatically. From that data, we have learned that some populations, particularly minority and economically-disadvantaged, are not achieving at nearly the same level as other students. The district has been concerned as well about students' achievement at all levels of the academic continuum because it has not been growing consistently. This school system has excellent faculty and staff who can and have been addressing these problems. I believe they are going in the right direction particularly with the Professional Learning Community initiative that is giving teachers an effective process to help each other improve their teaching skills.

2) Impact: I have long preached the value of effective program evaluation in my work for several youth-serving agencies over 20 years. I will look carefully at program results to ensure that the district is using strategies that make a difference for our students. I will also think carefully before supporting new initiatives without being assured that the existing interventions are not working and that the new plan has been shown to be effective elsewhere. Again, I believe that our school district has excellent faculty and staff but it never hurts to have extra scrutiny from board members who have different professional experiences.

3) School resources: I will use my knowledge of policy-making at the county and state level, and my unrelenting desire to communicate effectively, to ensure that elected leaders and policymakers in our county have the confidence that supporting Chapel Hill-Carrboro School District programs is a sound investment in our county's future.

How to contact:
Phone: 919-932-6282
E-mail: mia@miaburroughs.com
Web site: www.miaburroughs.com